Introspection in dual-tasks: Conditions and sources of the PRP neglect

• Applicant: Dr. Daniel Bratzke
• Subject Area: General, Cognitive and Mathematical Psychology
• Term: from 2011 to 2016
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 206003312

The ability to introspect accurately about the time it takes to complete a task is of great importance in order to maximize performance and to successfully monitor and control one's behavior in demanding situations. Previous studies found that objective dual-task costs were not reflected in introspective reports. These limitations of introspection during dual-task processing were interpreted as evidence that the second task cannot be consciously perceived while attention is occupied by the first task (referred to here as the conscious perception bottleneck, CPB). In the first phase of this research project we interrogated this finding and its interpretation. We found little support for either the CPB model or accurate timing under dual-task conditions. Instead, we found evidence that participants use different information to estimate their reaction times in different contexts. This information can be temporal in nature, related to other experiences during a trial such as feelings of difficulty, or related to other events in the trial such as the interval between their responses. It appears that contextual factors greatly influence participants' introspective reports about their own task performance. In the planned second phase of this research project we propose nine experiments that address two new experimental goals. First, with a series of six experiments we aim to methodically investigate the influence of different contextual factors, present in the previously used introspective dual-task paradigm, on the accuracy of introspective reports. In particular, we will consider the three following demands: to convert the timing of events into interval estimates, to process two tasks and time intervals simultaneously, and to time intervals marked by stimuli of different modalities. These experiments will provide crucial information not only regarding the precise nature of the limitations of introspection in dual-task scenarios, but also regarding the interpretation of introspective measures in general. Second, with a series of three experiments we aim to assess introspection more directly by reducing reporting demands on participants. Using psychophysical and electroencephalographic methods we propose to examine the specific claim made by the CPB model that the conscious perception of a second task is delayed as long as attentional resources are utilized by the first task. Thus, in the second phase of research we aim to establish the conditions that threaten or facilitate accurate introspection, as well as provide evidence verifying or contradicting the claim that attention is crucial for conscious perception.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants